Wallace Ruzvidzo — Zimbabawe last year attracted investments from at least 46 countries, a third more than recorded the previous year, while 615 new investors have been licensed, a jump of 130 percent compared to 2022, a senior official has said.
Speaking during a stakeholder forum of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) in Harare yesterday, Deputy Chief Secretary (Policy Analysis, Coordination and Development Planning) in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Mr Willard Manungo, said China remained the biggest investor in the country, with South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Botswana among the new entrants.
"I am advised that, during 2023, we witnessed a strong recovery of investor interest in Zimbabwe, with businesses from 46 countries coming into Zimbabwe to invest. This represents a rebound of 35 percent over the previous year, 2022.
"A perusal of our investor source markets shows the People's Republic of China remaining a key investment partner, more notably in participating in mining investments," he said.
The increase in investors, said Mr Manungo, was largely attributed to President Mnangagwa's continuous promotion of Zimbabwe as a safe investment destination.
President Mnangagwa recently attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and used the platform to lure investors from the world's second-biggest economy.
"Investment data also confirms new investors coming in from South Africa, and Botswana, as well as other investors being attracted into Zimbabwe from the United Arab Emirates.
"It is pleasing to note that the inflow of all such investments is being attracted through targeted marketing efforts, in fulfilment of His Excellency, the President, Dr E.D. Mnangagwa's initiatives under a Zimbabwe that is open for business," Mr Manungo said.
This year, he said, ZIDA had reported an 8 percent growth in licences during the second quarter, reflecting increasing investor confidence.
Public private partnerships registered progress, with notable partnerships being the Thuli-Moswa Dam and the Harare-Nyamapanda highway, which have a combined investment value of over US$1 billion and are set to take off soon.
Such partnership investments were on the rise.
"This is benefiting from the policy framework outlined by Cabinet to guide private sector participation in infrastructure development, essential for complementing Government interventions to underpin growth and development.
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"This framework provides clarity over the legal requirements, as well as the roadmaps for project implementation. I commend all stakeholders for their continued interest and participation in the country's initiatives to improve the Ease of Doing Business environment in Zimbabwe, which is critical for us to attract and nurture sustainable investment inflows into our economy," Mr Manungo said.
ZIDA chief executive officer Mr Tafadzwa Chinamo said the agency was looking forward to launching more Do-It-Yourself platforms as they were going a long way in attracting investors.
"We are also looking into agriculture and renewable energy platforms. So, the initial work has started. I think we are now on our third and fourth one. We have learnt a lot. So we want to make sure that the next one that we launch, we will not make the same mistakes that we made before," he said.
